ItB次元官网网址檚 not your typical operation, and certainly not one Joan Andersen was ready to talk about with her everyday friends.
But after five bouts of Clostridium difficile infection which led to multiple hospital visits, the 78-year-old Gordon Head resident is thrilled to have put the ongoing cases of bowel inflammation behind her.
B次元官网网址淚t started Dec. 31 of 2015, or New YearB次元官网网址檚 Eve, and IB次元官网网址檇 just thought IB次元官网网址檇 eaten something that didnB次元官网网址檛 agree with me,B次元官网网址� Andersen said.
ItB次元官网网址檚 a great relief for Andersen, as she underwent a fecal microbiota transplant in April, thanks to a new study run by Dr. Christine Lee with Island Health. Lee is the recipient of a 2017 Health Professional-Investigator Award for her pioneering research in support of people living with chronic gut disorders such as CrohnB次元官网网址檚 or ulcerative colitis, inflammatory bowel disease and Clostridium difficile infection (C. difficile).
In the transplant, the stool from a healthy, screened donor is transplanted in a patientB次元官网网址檚 colon who suffers from one of the afflictions, as Andersen does.
All Andersen knows is her donor is in St. Catherines, Ont.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 so grateful, itB次元官网网址檚 really a great thing,B次元官网网址� Andersen said. B次元官网网址淏eing the hospital with an infectious disease, at my age, is not a good thing.B次元官网网址�
In a career of 40-plus years in medical labratory science, Andersen was relatively unaware of C difficileB次元官网网址檚 prevalence. But she still subscribes to the medical journals she always did and has seen itB次元官网网址檚 rise over the past decade.
B次元官网网址淚n some ways my history of work was helpful. I didnB次元官网网址檛 go telling my friends here right away but I was able to talk about it with my lab friends.B次元官网网址�
Fecal microbiota transplant, or FMT, is not available in most health care facilities in Canada and is not approved outside clinical trials for IBD patients. However, in 2015, Health Canada changed its regulations to allow for FMT treatments in patients with recurrent CDI. Lee is part of a provincial group working to make FMT available to recurrent CDI patients across B.C.
A major factor in developing IBD or CDI is an imbalance of good and bad bacteria in the gut. Current treatments to restore healthy colonic flora are often ineffective and costly. One in 150 Canadians has IBD B次元官网网址� the highest rate in the world. ItB次元官网网址檚 the leading cause of health care-related infection in Canada and according to the National Centre for Biotechnology costs approximately $280 million a year to treat.
Add in recurring cases, and recurring treatments of antibiotics, and itB次元官网网址檚 something that both Canadians and the health care system would like to avoid.
B次元官网网址淚 ended up on a very heavy antibiotic which I was not happy about,B次元官网网址� Andersen said. B次元官网网址淚 already have an inflammation issue with my sinuses that I am only now able to deal with because of the C. difficile.B次元官网网址�
